One

       I walked up the stairs into the verandah where my grandfather was seated on his favorite armchair with his glasses on, reading a newspaper. His totally white hair, glaring in the afternoon sun made him look like Wole Soyinka.

'Good evening Alade.' I greeted. He didn't like to be called baba so I called him Alade which means the crowned one.

'Ayo Mi, you are back. How was school?' he asked smiling at me.

I almost collided with my grandmother who was storming her way out into the verandah.

'Where is that your useless father?' She asked.

Growing up with them, I realized saying anything to her when she was on a rampage only made things worse for you.

'Didn't you hear me? Buburu orire! I am talking to you!' She shouted louder. I had gotten used to her calling me names especially the she had just used, bad luck.

'Yemisi!' Grandfather intervened. 'The girl just got back from school, let her go inside.' He said

'She has to provide her father.'

While inside, I could still hear their voices. Alade was speaking calmly, perhaps still reading his paper while iya was shouting at the top of her voice and throwing insults at my father.

I sighed as I thought of what he could have done this time. My father and I lived with my grandparents. I had heard iya tell him the day before that a fool at forty is a fool forever, she said the adage fit him perfectly.

I didn't know my mother, iya bluntly told me that she ran away from here few months after my birth and I knew it must have been because of the treatment she received.

I too felt like running away sometimes but what would become of Alade if I left?

       I undressed, not bothering to check the kitchen for food, I knew there wouldn't be any. Iya only made food available once a day and I already had my share in the morning before going to school. Besides, I had cultivated a habit of buying food at school with the little money I saved.

After undressing, I didn't hear any noise outside. I peeped into Alade's room and saw him sleeping and snoring lightly. Iya must have gone to a friend's place to complain again.

I decided to rest a little before she got back and was rudely awaken when she did by her yelling.

'Aramide! Aramide!'

'Who took the money I kept under this pot?' She asked, pointing at the biggest pot in the kitchen.

'I didn't take it.' I said as calmly as I could.

'What do you mean by that? You were the only one I left here except you are calling your grandfather a thief.'

'God forbid.' I said.

'You are not going anywhere tomorrow, you'll pluck oranges and sell in the market till you earn back my two thousand naira!' She yelled for those who were now watching to hear.

        Next morning, I woke around 5:00am and began my chores. Before 7:00am, I had already plucked a sackful of oranges and was selling them at the park where vehicles were being loaded with passengers.

Many of my friends from school were hawking different items at the park also. It was a common practice, to earn money for fees, you had to help out too. Luck seemed to be on my side that day because before 11:00am, I had already sold the oranges I brought to the park and the money was enough to replace iya's missing one.

I immediately ran back home and gathered some more oranges so I could raise some money for myself.

I made a total of three thousand nine hundred naira. I hid one thousand in my hair and went home.

When I got home, iya was sitting outside, fanning herself with an old newspaper. I knelt beside her and presented the money, she snatched it, wet all her fingers with her saliva and counted it. After counting, she turned to face me.

'It's only nine hundred extra you could make, useless child. Go to the kitchen, I left some food for you in the pot.' I nodded and headed for the kitchen.

She had made jellof rice and what seemed like the whole vegetable leaves in our garden. It was more of leaves than rice but I ate it anyways, I couldn't afford to annoy her. After eating, I had my bath and went to sit with Alade in the verandah. He was reading the papers as usual.

'Alade? Why do you always read the papers? You never miss it even for a day.' I asked

He cleared his throat. 'My child learning is a continuous process. It never ends.'

'You sound like my teacher.'

'True. I never master anything though.' I said.

'What could be better than having a grandfather like you?' I said as I stood to hug Alade.

'Good evening father.' I greeted.

After 30mins, I assumed they would have finished discussing so I left my room and headed for the living room, then I heard Alade saying "You have a thirteen year old daughter to raise. When that child was born I thought you'd change and become a little bit responsible but that didn't happen. You lived the last thirteen years like some teenager undergoing puberty and not a father.... "

I had heard enough. I went back into my room and lay on my bed. I never thought about my father, it was almost like he didn't exist except that he committed a lot of atrocities, many of which I had to suffer for. Sometimes I wondered if he even knew my name because he never called me by my name.

He seldom spoke to me, there just was not a single likeness between us but sometimes I felt as though I inherited my academic feebleness from him. I didn't look anything like him so I assumed I looked like my mother and sometimes I wonder where she could be, if she ever made it in life, if she had a family and children now, if she ever thought about me.

                               *

       I attended the community secondary school and then I was in Jss2. School was my hiding place from iya. Sometimes even when school was over, I still hung around to avoid her ranting. The school authority didn't like me, teachers hated me and all the brilliant kids whispered when I passed but I didn't let any of that bother me.

I acted brave and nonchalant, I wasn't a loner, I had an army of friends. Most of my friends could be classified as the empty vessels, not intelligent but usually fun and carefree though not problematic, Alade wouldn't tolerate any involvement in problems. Peace and happiness were what I craved but peace was something I had to work really hard to obtain. 

       On a certain occasion, I was sitting on my seat in class trying to complete a very difficult work my science teacher had given me to make up for all my failed tests when one of the numerous bullies appeared before me. He picked my book and raised it up, I just sat and watched him.

'Seems like a lot of work. Can you handle it?'. He mocked. I just stared at him.

'I'm talking to you Aramide. You need help?' He continued.

'Even if I needed help, I would never ask you.' I said.

'Get lost ape.' I said calmly.

I don't know what happened but next, I saw myself in the principal's office. That bully was standing beside me and he looked a mess, like he had been seriously beaten.

You can imagine the look on my face when the principal said it was I who had recreated him, I grinned widely which made him give me six lashes of his cane.

He called my grandmother afterwards and Iya literally dragged me home holding my ear. At home, she pounced on me but it was useless, she was as light as ekporoko. She asked me to sit outside until Alade got back home.

When Alade came back home, he scolded iya for beating me, he said the kid provoked me and it was only normal for me to react violently.

'Akin.'  He called me. 'Go inside, wash up and relax.' I couldn't stop the smile from coming to my face as I walked past iya, she saw it and chased me. I ran into my room and shut the door against her.